Steven Schwartz writes:

>Even though they performed duets together, they approached singing very
>differently.  Fischer-Dieskau appeared to concern himself with projecting
>the subtleties of text and finding precisely the right persona for the
>song.  Baker's diction was her weakest point as a singer, and, although her
>acting convinced you, she defined her characters less sharply.  The beauty
>of the voice itself, however, and her subtle control over the phrase made
>these criticisms light as dust and swept them aside.  While I certainly
>admire and respect Fischer-Dieskau, I love Baker.  She's that kind of
>singer.

The strengths of, and the differences between these two singers couldn't
have been thumbnailed more sensitively or accurately.  When Fischer-Dieskau
sings poetry he brings to the exercise his unexcelled craft in enunciating
and declaiming while blending this expertly, but no more than that, with
music.  Janet Baker shines at the reverse, she usurps the poem in the cause
of music to which she gives blessed voice.  (I noted somewhere that one
Stephen Schwartz just got an Oscar out there in Hollywood.  Should have
gone to our Steven!)

Denis Fodor                     Internet:[log in to unmask]